Tender

Agora Learning Partnership - ICT Communications & Security Partner

  • Agora Learning Partnership

F02: Contract notice

Notice identifier: 2023/S 000-028714

Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-040671

Published 29 September 2023, 8:38am



Section one: Contracting authority

one.1) Name and addresses

Agora Learning Partnership

Watford

WD24 5JW

Contact

Geoff Chandler

Email

geoff.chandler@moxton-education.com

Telephone

+44 07970661087

Country

United Kingdom

Region code

UKH23 - Hertfordshire

Companies House

10290954

Internet address(es)

Main address

https://agoralearning.co.uk

one.3) Communication

The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at

https://www.moxton-education.com/projects-minimalist

Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address

Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted to the above-mentioned address

one.4) Type of the contracting authority

Body governed by public law

one.5) Main activity

Education


Section two: Object

two.1) Scope of the procurement

two.1.1) Title

Agora Learning Partnership - ICT Communications & Security Partner

two.1.2) Main CPV code

  • 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

two.1.3) Type of contract

Services

two.1.4) Short description

The Agora learning Partnership (Agora) encompasses 9 schools and circa 2,693 pupils in Hertfordshire.

The Trust Head Office is currently at The Orchard Primary School

The Agora Learning Partnership (formerly the Herts for Learning Multi Academy Trust) is an inclusive, collaborative and forward looking Trust where we all work together, learn together and succeed together in order to give all of the children in our academies the best possible education and learning opportunities.

The nine schools who currently belong to our Partnership benefit greatly from working collaboratively, providing help and support to one another. The relationship between the schools and the Executive Team and Trustees is also deemed to be a strength of the organisation and the support offered by the Executive Team is very much personalised to the individual needs of our schools. However, this only enhances the provision at our schools, whilst enabling them to maintain their individual identities and the autonomy to deliver a curriculum that reflects their school communities and the needs of the children and young people that they serve; we believe this is the only way to achieve the very best educational standards within our schools and across our Trust - high standards that we continually strive for.

Throughout our Partnership, we believe success is measured by the number of children and young people who feel happy, safe and able to flourish, in order that they can reach their full potential educationally and in all other aspects of school and life. As a result, we place children and young people at the heart of all the work that we do and the decisions that we make.

This procurement encompasses the items noted below. In essence, this procurement is all about identifying a single supplier to provide a fully outsourced managed service. At the sole discretion of the Trust any future schools that the Trust may incorporate into the Trust will also be added to the ICT contract. Any additional schools will co-terminate to the end same end date of the initial contract.

Further details regarding bid timescales are noted below but in terms of the service this is advertised as a 60 month contract with start and end dates as follows:

Lines available - Service start date - 1st May 2024

Service end date - 30th April 2029

The companies identified from these questions will receive the ITT stage 2 for the Service including a detailed set of requirements. For the purposes of this shortlisting stage bidders should assume that the ITT Stage 2 will include, but is not be limited to;

• A managed connectivity service to connect schools anywhere in England

• A broadband service for each school based on synchronous connectivity

• A 'failover' line

• A firewalled service

• A managed VoIP telephony service for each school to an agreed number of handsets each

• Support and maintenance service

• Full end to end single SLA approach

• Management of any 3rd parties required to provide the service

• Relevant monitoring, management, and reporting

• Full installation and transition service

• Value added services

• Technical interface into the Trusts outsourced support provision

Bidders should note the following:

• The Trust will provide a standard contract as part of the ITT Pack

• It is not expected there may be a requirement for TUPE

two.1.5) Estimated total value

Value excluding VAT: £620,000

two.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

two.2) Description

two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)

  • 32430000 - Wide area network
  • 32550000 - Telephone equipment
  • 32560000 - Fibre-optic materials
  • 32570000 - Communications equipment
  • 32580000 - Data equipment
  • 48100000 - Industry specific software package
  • 51340000 - Installation services of line telephony equipment
  • 80100000 - Primary education services
  • 80400000 - Adult and other education services

two.2.3) Place of performance

NUTS codes
  • UK - United Kingdom

two.2.4) Description of the procurement

The Agora learning Partnership (Agora) encompasses 9 schools and circa 2,693 pupils in Hertfordshire.

The Trust Head Office is currently at The Orchard Primary School

The Agora Learning Partnership (formerly the Herts for Learning Multi Academy Trust) is an inclusive, collaborative and forward looking Trust where we all work together, learn together and succeed together in order to give all of the children in our academies the best possible education and learning opportunities.

The nine schools who currently belong to our Partnership benefit greatly from working collaboratively, providing help and support to one another. The relationship between the schools and the Executive Team and Trustees is also deemed to be a strength of the organisation and the support offered by the Executive Team is very much personalised to the individual needs of our schools. However, this only enhances the provision at our schools, whilst enabling them to maintain their individual identities and the autonomy to deliver a curriculum that reflects their school communities and the needs of the children and young people that they serve; we believe this is the only way to achieve the very best educational standards within our schools and across our Trust - high standards that we continually strive for.

Throughout our Partnership, we believe success is measured by the number of children and young people who feel happy, safe and able to flourish, in order that they can reach their full potential educationally and in all other aspects of school and life. As a result, we place children and young people at the heart of all the work that we do and the decisions that we make.

This procurement encompasses the items noted below. In essence, this procurement is all about identifying a single supplier to provide a fully outsourced managed service. At the sole discretion of the Trust any future schools that the Trust may incorporate into the Trust will also be added to the ICT contract. Any additional schools will co-terminate to the end same end date of the initial contract.

Further details regarding bid timescales are noted below but in terms of the service this is advertised as a 60 month contract with start and end dates as follows:

Lines available - Service start date - 1st May 2024

Service end date - 30th April 2029

The companies identified from these questions will receive the ITT stage 2 for the Service including a detailed set of requirements. For the purposes of this shortlisting stage bidders should assume that the ITT Stage 2 will include, but is not be limited to;

• A managed connectivity service to connect schools anywhere in England

• A broadband service for each school based on synchronous connectivity

• A 'failover' line

• A firewalled service

• A managed VoIP telephony service for each school to an agreed number of handsets each

• Support and maintenance service

• Full end to end single SLA approach

• Management of any 3rd parties required to provide the service

• Relevant monitoring, management, and reporting

• Full installation and transition service

• Value added services

• Technical interface into the Trusts outsourced support provision

Bidders should note the following:

• The Trust will provide a standard contract as part of the ITT Pack

• It is not expected there may be a requirement for TUPE

two.2.5) Award criteria

Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents

two.2.6) Estimated value

Value excluding VAT: £620,000

two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system

Duration in months

60

This contract is subject to renewal

No

two.2.10) Information about variants

Variants will be accepted: No

two.2.11) Information about options

Options: No


Section three. Legal, economic, financial and technical information

three.1) Conditions for participation

three.1.2) Economic and financial standing

Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents


Section four. Procedure

four.1) Description

four.1.1) Type of procedure

Competitive procedure with negotiation

four.1.5) Information about negotiation

The contracting authority reserves the right to award the contract on the basis of the initial tenders without conducting negotiations

four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No

four.2) Administrative information

four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

Date

2 November 2023

Local time

12:00pm

four.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

17 November 2023

four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted

English


Section six. Complementary information

six.1) Information about recurrence

This is a recurrent procurement: No

six.2) Information about electronic workflows

Electronic ordering will be used

Electronic invoicing will be accepted

Electronic payment will be used

six.4) Procedures for review

six.4.1) Review body

Agora Learning Partnership

Watford

Country

United Kingdom